Gas singeing apparatus for textile yarn processing machine

ABSTRACT

A gas singeing apparatus for use with textile yarn processing machines such as a twister, spinning frame or the like, and which includes a singeing plate forming the front wall of a combustion chamber and having a cylindrical wall portion for receiving a running yarn end therethrough. A gas burner nozzle is positioned within the combustion chamber to heat the singeing plate to thereby singe off any protruding fibers on the yarn passing through the cylindrical wall portion. Suction means is provided for drawing off the products of combustion within the combustion chamber as well as the residue of the singeing operation from both the entry end and discharge end of the cylindrical wall portion of the singeing plate.

[111 3,822,452 [451 July 9, 1974 or Firm-Parrott, Bell, Seltzer, Park ABSTRACT E t V ill illll 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures nited States Patent [191 Nimtz Primary Examiner-Louis K. Rimrodt GAS SINGEING APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE & Gibson m w A m m m m G N I E m R P m Y [75] Inventor: Klaus Ni tztKrefeld, Germany A gas singeing apparatus for use with textile cessing machines such as a twister, s the like, and which'includes a sin the front wall of a combustion chamber and havin cylindrical wall portion for receivin H b m G V. m m w .a

2 .mmw M 1 7 XMUZ w m aim PKN3 a o e a d 7 D. MD. A FA N N 7 22 end therethroug'h. A gas burner n within the combustion chamber to heat plate to thereby singe off any protrudin yarn passing through'the cylindrical w tion means is provided for drawin combustion within the combustio [56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS the residue of the singeing operation from boththe entry end and discharge end of the c portion of the singeing plate.

22m vnn me Q t mm .mee NHH .89 667 999 H 62 24 8 7 8 ,1 072 46 333 PROCESSING MACHINE protruding fiber ends and thereby obtain a smooth surface. Also, the presence of the protruding fiber ends is undesirable in that they interfere with subsequent finishing operations, and they promote the formation of pills or fuzz balls on the yarn. I r

In gas singeing operations of the described type, it is known to employ a singeing plate having a cylindrical wall portion through which the running yarn end passes and with the wall portion serving to form a screen between the yarnto be singed and a gas flame such that the yarn is not brought in direct contact with the flame. A plate of this type is described, for example, in French Patent No. 445,959. In the absence of such a plate, the direct contact of the flame with the yarn could lead to G S SHNGEING APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE YARN sure is provided between the point at which the yarn enters the singeing device and the take up bobbin. The enclosure. is' subjected toa vacuum source such that a stream of aspirated air acts to draw off the residue of the singeing operation and the products of the gas'combustion. The above structure serves to free the operator of the machine from the annoyance of these contaminates, and it also serves to prevent the contaminates from reaching the wound package. A structure of this type is described in German Patent No. 848,183. In the above arrangement, however, a significant part of the entire machine is acted upon the vacuum source, and a relatively large blower is required. Also, a large number of partitioning walls is necessary in order to achieve an effective exhaust. Such partitioning walls increase the overall expense of the apparatus, and they interefere with .free access to the machine by the operator. I

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a singeingapparatus for a textile yarn processing machine which provides a simple and inexpensive means for removing the residue of the singeing operation so-that the residue does not contaminate the finished yarn.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a gas singeing apparatus for a yarn processing machine and which has an exhaust system for removing the'residue of the singeing operation as well as the products of combustion.

It is a further object of the present invention to prochamber to heat the rear face of the singeing plate, and an exhaust tube is positioned. generally coaxially with the combustionchamber. The forward'end of the exhaust tube overlies in spaced relation the rear end of the combustion chamber and extends forwardly along the length of the combustionchamber a substantial distance to thereby define a nozzle in close proximity to the entry end and discharge end of the cylindrical wall portion of the singeing plate. Suction means is operative ly associated with the exhaust tube such that the residue of the singeing operationis withdrawn through the nozzle from both the entry end and discharge end of the cylindrical wall portion of the singeing plate, and

the products of combustion from the gas burner nozzle are withdrawn through the open rear end of the combustion chamber.

Some of the objects, of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompany ing drawings, in which: 7

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a gas singeing apparatus embodying the features of the present invention, and positioned on a conventional yarn of the gas FIG. 6 is a sectional top view of the valve of the apparatus, and taken substantially alongthe line 6-6 of FIG. 2. v

Referring more specifically to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a single spindle assembly station of a textile yarn two-for-one twister. It is to be understood that a plurality of these spindle assembly stations are normally provided in side by side relationship along the outsides of the machine.

The spindle assembly station broadly includes a gen- I erally conventional spindle assembly 10 which comprises a driven rotor mechanism 11 which includes a whorl 12 rotatably mounted on a portion of the twister I machine frame 13, and which is rotated bya continuous tangential drive belt 14 in a conventional manner.

The spindle assembly 10 further includes a carrier mechanism 16 for carrying apackage 18 of yarn Y, the carrier mechanism being rotatably mounted on the rotor mechanism 11 so that the rotor mechanism may rotate relative thereto while the carrier mechanism is maintained in a stationary position. The carrier mechanism includes a basket 19 which surrounds the package 18 of yarn.

During yarn processing or twisting, the yarn Y is withdrawn from the package 18 andv is threaded through the various mechanisms of the spindle assembly in the manner shown in the drawings. The yarn Y.

emerges from the rotor mechanism and forms a balloon of yarn Y around the package 18'and along the outside of the basket 19. For purposes of restraining the size of the thus formed balloon, a balloon restrainer mechanism 22 is mounted around the basket 19. The yarn Y is then lead upwardly through a pigtail guide 24, through the gas singeing apparatus 26 as hereinafter further described, around a pre-take-up roller 28 and to a traversing yarn guide 30. From the yarn guide 30, the yarn is wound onto a take-up package 32 on the cradle 33 which carries a suitable bobbin for receiving the yarn and forming the package 32. The package 32 is driven by a drive roll 34 frictionally contacting the surface of the package 32 in the conventional manner.

The gas singeing apparatus 26 is illustrated in greater 7 detail in FIGS. 2-6. In particular, the apparatus is mounted to the frame of the twister by an angled bracket 36. An exhaust conduit 38 is positioned immediately'behind the bracket 36, and a suitable vacuum source which is illustrated schematically at 40 is operatively connected to the conduit 38 to produce a partial vacuum therein.

An exhaust tube 42 communicates with the exhaust conduit 38 and extends forwardly through the bracket 36 in the manner shown in FIG. 2. The forward end (left end as seen in FIG. 2) of the tube 42 extends through a support plate 44 which is fixedly secured to the bracket 36 by the threaded member 45. The support plate 44 includes a dished protective plate 46 carried at its lower end, the protective plate being provided with a yarn guide eyelet 48 and a threading slit 49. The upper end of the support plate 44 includes a horizontal portion 50 which is provided with a yarn guide eyelet 52 and a threading slit 53. As will be apparent from FIG. 2, the two yarn guide eyelets 48 and 52 lie on a common vertical axis.

A combustion chamber 56 is mounted at the forward end of the exhaust tube 42, and is secured to the support plate 44 by means of the supporting arms 58 and 59 carried by the support plate 44. The combustion chamber 56 is fabricated from a suitable heat resistant material and includes a generally conically tapered tubular side wall 60, a front end at 62, and an open rear end at 64. A pair of laterallydirected flanges 65 and 66 overlie the supporting arms 58 and 59 and are secured thereto by the threaded members 68 and 69 as shown in FIG. 3.

A singeing plate 70 of heat resistant material closes the front end 62 of the combustion chamber, and includes an outer front face (the left side as seen in FIG. and an inner rear face (the right side in FIG. 5). In addition, the medial portion of the singeing plate includes a hollow cylindrical wall portion 72 of generally circular cross-sectional configuration, and a pair of laterally extending generally planar side flanges 74 and 75 extend outwardly from the cylindrical wall portion 72 and are received in mating channels (not numbered) in the combustion chamber to thereby retain the singeing plate therein. The cylindrical wall portion 72 forms an arc of a circle in cross-sectional outline (note FIG. 5) which extendsat least about 270 in circumference to define an entrance slit76. Thus the slit 76 is seen to open into the cylindrical wall portion 72 from the outer front face to thereby permit an intermediate segment of a yarn end to be inserted laterally into the cylindrical wall portion. Also, it will be observed'that the cylindrical wall portion 72 is positioned coaxially about the vertical axis defined by the eyelets 48 and 52, and defines a yarn entry (or lower) end and a yam discharg (or upper) end.

As seen in FIG. 2, the exhaust tube 42 is positioned generally coaxially with the combustion chamber 56, and the forward end portion of the exhaust tube overlies in spaced relation the rear end 64 of the combustion chamber and extends forwardly along the length of the combustion chamber for a substantial distance.-

ferential nozzle which is in close proximity to both the entry end and the discharge end of the cylindrical wall portion 72 of the singeing plate 70.

To heat the singeing plate 70, there is provided a gas burner nozzle 80 mounted to extend into the open rear end 64 of the combustion chamber such that the flame is directed forwardly toward the rear face of the singeing plate. Also, a screen plate 82 of heat resistant material may be positioned within the combustion chamber and between the gas burner nozzle 80 and the rear face of the singeing plate to prevent overheating of the singeing plate.

A delivery line 84 for a combustible gas extends through the bracket 36 and is operatively connected to the gas burner nozzle 80 to supply gas thereto. A valve 85 is positioned in the line 84 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 6, the valve 85 including a piston 86 movable between a'closed position as shown in FIG. 6 and an open position as shown in FIG. 2 when moved toward the right. An O-ring 87 is provided to limit the movement of the piston 86 toward the right.

A U-shaped clip 88 is attached to the piston, and a hand operated plunger 89 extends through the support plate 44 and is operatively connected to the clip 88 to translate the piston 86 and thereby open and close the valve 85. In addition, a bimetallic strip 90 is fixedly mounted to a bracket 92 carried by the line 84, the strip 90 extending upwardly through the clip 88 and into the exhaust duct 42 adjacent the open rear end 64 of the combustion chamber. The strip 90 is normally biased to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 2 to close the valve, but the strip is adapted to be flexed to the solid line position of FIG. 2 by exposure to the heat from the combustion chamber to thereby hold the valve 85 open. Thus to initiate operation of the apparatus, the plunger 89 is depressed and the nozzle 80 ignited. The plunger 89 is held in the open position until the heat of combustion acts to flex the bimetallic strip to thereby hold the valve in its open position. If desired, a suitable delay mechanism of conventional electrical or mechanical type (not shown) may be associated with the plunger 89 so that it will be automatically held in the depressed condition until the bimetallic strip automatically performs this function. Thus in this case the i operator need only momentarily depress the plunger 89.

The bimetallic strip 90 further serves to terminate the flow of gas through the gas burner nozzle 80 in the event that the flame is extinguished for any reason. Thus for example if the flame is accidentally extinguished, the bimetallic strip will cool to thereby translate the piston 86 to close the valve 85.

As described above, the yarn Y forms a balloon about the basket 19. In addition, a similar but smaller circular motion results between the two thread eyelets 48 and 52, and thus within the cylindrical wall portion 72. By this arrangement, the traveling yarn is designed to come in contact with the heated wall surface of the truding fibers on the yarn.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed is:

l. A gas singeing apparatus for use with a textile yarn processing machine, such as a twister, spinning frame, or the like and comprising a combustion chamber including agenerally tubular side wall, a front end, and an open rear end, a singeing plate closing the front end of said combustion chamber and including a, an outer front face,

b. an inner rear face, c. ahollow cylindrical wall portion extending across said plate and adapted to have a yarn-end drawn thereth rough during processing of the yarn end and with the yarn end contacting said cylindrical wall portion, said cylindrical wall portion defining a yarn entry end and a yarn discharge end, and d. a slit extending along the length of said cylindrical wall portion and opening thereinto from said outer front face to thereby permit an intermedi-- yarn end passing through said cylindrical wall portion,.

an exhaust tube positioned generally 'coaxially with said combustion chamber and having a forward end overlying in spaced relation the rear end of said combustion chamber and extending forwardly 6 suction means operatively associated with said exhaust tube for drawing off the products of combustion within said cornbustionchamber through the open rear end thereof and for drawing-off through said nozzle the residue of the singeing operation from both the entry end and discharge end of said cylindrical portion.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including a plate of heat resistant material positioned within said combustion chamber and between said flame directing means and the rear face of said singeing plate to prevent overheating of the singeing plate.

' 3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said flame directing means includes a gas burner nozzle mounted within said combustion chamber and adjacent said rear face of said singeing plate, valve means-for controlling the flow of .a combustible gas to said gas burner nozzle, and hand operated means for selectively opening and closing said valve means.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 further including a bimetallic strip mounted adjacent said open rear end of said combustion chamber such that said strip is adapted to be flexed by exposure to the heat from said combustion chamber, and means operatively associated with said bimetallic strip for closing said valve means when said strip is, cool and opening said valve means when said strip is hot.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim lation above said yarn discharge end of said cylindricalwall portion, and a second yarn guide eyelet fixedly carried in spaced relation below said yarn entry end of said cylindrical wall portion, and with said first and second yarn guides and said cylindrical wall portion defining a common vertical axis;

1 wherein said tubular side wall of said combustion chamber; defines 

1. A gas singeing apparatus for use with a textile yarn processing machine, such as a twister, spinning frame, or the like and comprising a combustion chamber including a generally tubular side wall, a front end, and an open rear end, a singeing plate closing the front end of said combustion chamber and including a. an outer front face, b. an inner rear face, c. a hollow cylindrical wall portion extending across said plate and adapted to have a yarn end drawn therethrough during processing of the yarn end and with the yarn end contacting said cylindrical wall portion, said cylindrical wall portion defining a yarn entry end and a yarn discharge end, and d. a slit extending along the length of said cylindrical wall portion and opening thereinto from said outer front face to thereby permit an intermediate segMent of a yarn end to be inserted laterally into said cylindrical wall portion, means for directing a flame within said combustion chamber to heat the rear face of said singeing plate and thereby singe off any protruding fibers on the yarn end passing through said cylindrical wall portion, an exhaust tube positioned generally coaxially with said combustion chamber and having a forward end overlying in spaced relation the rear end of said combustion chamber and extending forwardly along the length of said combustion chamber a substantial distance to thereby define a nozzle in close proximity to said entry end and discharge end of said cylindrical wall portion, and suction means operatively associated with said exhaust tube for drawing off the products of combustion within said combustion chamber through the open rear end thereof and for drawing off through said nozzle the residue of the singeing operation from both the entry end and discharge end of said cylindrical portion.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including a plate of heat resistant material positioned within said combustion chamber and between said flame directing means and the rear face of said singeing plate to prevent overheating of the singeing plate.
 3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said flame directing means includes a gas burner nozzle mounted within said combustion chamber and adjacent said rear face of said singeing plate, valve means for controlling the flow of a combustible gas to said gas burner nozzle, and hand operated means for selectively opening and closing said valve means.
 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 further including a bimetallic strip mounted adjacent said open rear end of said combustion chamber such that said strip is adapted to be flexed by exposure to the heat from said combustion chamber, and means operatively associated with said bimetallic strip for closing said valve means when said strip is cool and opening said valve means when said strip is hot.
 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said tubular side wall of said combustion chamber defines a conical exterior surface, and said forward end of said exhaust tube includes a conical internal diameter which closely conforms to said conical exterior surface of said combustion chamber side wall.
 6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including a first yarn guide eyelet fixedly carried in spaced relation above said yarn discharge end of said cylindrical wall portion, and a second yarn guide eyelet fixedly carried in spaced relation below said yarn entry end of said cylindrical wall portion, and with said first and second yarn guides and said cylindrical wall portion defining a common vertical axis. 